THREAD: This is about Compton, CA. About the choices we make as taxpayers. Whether to invest in families, in community, in health & safety. Or continue to throw billions away at police & incarceration that only harms. This thread is also about what you can do right now. Read on: 
Compton, CA is an American cultural capital. And a city where glaring social inequities overlap. 30% of residents are Black, 68% are Latino. And incredibly, 1 in 5 are below the poverty line. Not enough money for medication, groceries, school, transportation, housing. The basics.
As families, children, & elderly struggle to survive, Compton taxpayers pay more per resident per geographic area to the Sheriff than any city in LA County. $22 million. All despite the harm of Compton Executioners: 1 of the Sheriff's violent deputy gangs.knock-la.com/lasd-gangs-lit…
Taxpayers foot a $35 million annual bill in Compton for pretrial caging. 97% Black & brown. On top of that, the human costs: Loss of jobs. Ineligibility for welfare programs upon release. Meanwhile, Compton has a life expectancy well below LA County average. It’s clear why. More:
Compton faces a critical lack of mental health hospitals. Access to healthcare hovers at 10% for Black residents. 20% for Latinos. 4.5% of deaths are from drug overdose. Another 4.5% from suicide. publichealth.lacounty.gov/ohae/docs/cchp…
Compton ranks lowest in terms of services for mental health & homelessness, according to the Justice Equity Needs Index. Identifies areas in greatest need of public investments in community healing, health, & prevention to reverse historical injustices: advancementprojectca.org/tools-we-use/m…
A budget says a lot about a government’s (at any level) priorities. Compton’s budget--prioritizing violent policing, prosecutions, arrests, & incarceration over supporting its people to live--is the norm across the country. An alternative, better investment: guaranteed income.
Embarrassed I didn’t know more about movement for guaranteed income until recently. Leaders in the movement for racial & economic justice have long advocated for it to disrupt harmful state systems. And it's not some crazy pie-in-sky idea. It's happening right now. I just gave.
I learned recently about the @ComptonPledge. An end-to-end solution to the problem of uneven and anachronistic welfare administration. Delivers cash transfers seamlessly, no strings attached. No hoops to jump through, or unnecessary data to provide. comptonpledge.org
The difference a basic income makes in people’s lives & its critical role in challenging where society DOES invest taxpayer dollars: Every dollar directly invests in residents like Christine – who is using these funds to build a homeless services nonprofit.businessinsider.com/how-ubi-helps-…
Intersecting crises of COVID-19, mass unemployment, & police violence renewed call for a guaranteed income. @ComptonPledge has since grown to be the largest guaranteed income program in country. $4 million disbursed to 800 low-income families. comptonpledge.org
It’s ridiculous we need to step in to do the bare minimum government refuses to. Till that changes we need models like this. Every dollar goes directly to families. To close 70% of the wealth gap. #PledgeCompton. Donate here:donate.comptonpledge.org
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